Courage Knows No Size
by bean21
Summary: How could he face the hobbit who he had inwardly doubted? How could he explain how sorry he was?
1. He Is Valiant

Courage Knows No Size

'_And what of the King's esquire, the Halfling? Eomer, you shall make him a knight of the Riddermark, for he is valiant!'_

Those words wrung through Eomer's mind when Gandalf said that Merry had been brought into the Houses of Healing. He knew he had been wrong. Merry had fought as valiantly as any of his men in the battle of Pelenor Fields, and without the courage of the hobbit Eomer knew that his sister wouldn't still be with them.

'_He is valiant.'_ Those had been Eowyn's words. Eomer would not soon forget them, yet he had not gone to see the halfling to whom he owed so much. How could he? How could he face the hobbit who he had inwardly doubted? How could he explain how sorry he was? He sighed. It had been four days since Eowyn and Merry had been brought to the Houses of Healing, and still he had not seen the hobbit. A sudden voice interrupted Eomer's thoughts.

"My lord, the Lady Eowyn wishes to see you."

Eomer nodded as the soldier turned to leave. Slowly he stood and walked to his sister's room.


	2. You Must Go To Him

Eomer slowly opened the door leading into his sister's room. Eowyn sat on the bed looking out the window. She turned her head when Eomer entered the room but she did not smile.

"How are you feeling today, sister?" Eomer asked.

"As well as would be expected."

"And how is your arm?"

"It does not hurt so much as it did. They tell me it will heal."

"Have your dreams improved any?"

"A little, brother. But how is Merry?"

Eomer shook his head. "I do not know, Eowyn."

"Have you not gone to him?"

"I have not."

"But Eomer, you must go to him!"

"I know, sister. I will."

"Go to him today, Eomer. I want to know how he is, but the healers won't let me get out of bed yet."

"I will see how he is," Eomer answered softly.

"Talk with him also Eomer. He fought bravely and I want him to know that his deeds have not been overlooked. If not for his courage the Witch King would not be dead."

"I know. I owe him much. He shall be made a knight of Rohan but..."

"But what? Eomer why will you not talk to him?"

"How can I, Eowyn?" Eomer blurted. "Every time I looked at him before the battle I thought that he should leave, that he would run if he faced battle. I wished he would be gone so he would no longer be a burden to us. Though I knew he was well-meaning I thought that he was useless. How can I face him after I've been proven so horribly wrong?"

"He knows nothing of what you thought towards him," Eowyn whispered after a short pause. "Do not worry. Say nothing of it. Forget it and continue to live your life as if it had never happened."

Eomer shook his head. "I should never rest if I did nothing about it. I must apologize to him. But you know as well as I do that I've always hated apologizing," he added with a grim smile.

"Don't worry, Eomer. Merry will forgive you. I know he will."

Eomer nodded slowly, dreading what came next.

"You must go to him."


	3. Pippin

With heavy steps Eomer walked through the Houses of Healing toward Merry's room. Up till now he had made every excuse he could to delay this trip, but now there was absolutely nothing to stop him from seeing the hobbit.

A healer passed him in the hall.

"Excuse me!"

"Yes, King Eomer?"

"Could you tell me where the room of Meriadoc is?"

"The _perian?_"

"Yes, Meriadoc."

"Down that hall. The last room on the right, king."

"Thank you."

Eomer walked slowly down the hall until he came to the room. As soon as he reached it a soldier of Minas Tirith that had been on the ground stood up and bowed, yet he was only the height of a child.

"You needn't bow," Eomer said softly.

The soldier stood his normal height and Eomer saw that this was also a halfling though he was dressed as a guard of the Citadel.

"They told me you're the King of Rohan now, so I thought I should bow."

Eomer smiled. Then with surprise he realized that this was the same halfling as he had seen with Merry at the gates of Isengard.

"Your name is Peregrin, is it not?"

"It is, but every one calls me Pippin or Pip."

"Well, Pippin, how is your friend?"

Pippin's face suddenly turned serious.

"He's doing better," Pipping answered softly.

"You look worried," Eomer remarked, sitting down on a bench.

Pippin sighed and sat back down on the floor.

"He's just not quite the same. I've heard that he did great deeds, but no one has told me exactly what he did yet, but it changed him. He acts normally most of the time, but he's always waking up in the middle of the night because of nightmares."

Eomer searched the face of the hobbit across from him. Pippin was clearly very worried about his friend.

"Gandalf and Strider are with him now," Pippin continued. "They made me leave, but I don't know why." Suddenly Pippin looked up at Eomer and Eomer realized for the first time how very young this hobbit really was.

"Eomer, is he going to die?"

Filled with compassion for this young hobbit, Eomer shook his head.

"No," he answered. "No, I'm sure he won't."

"What did he do? Do you know?" Pippin asked softly.

Eomer nodded his head. "Your friend, Merry, rode to war with my sister, Eowyn. He fought valiantly in the battle, and at the very end he saved my sister's life and helped to kill one of Middle Earth's greatest enemies."

Pippin's eyes were wide with surprise.

"Merry did all that?"

"Yes."

They were both silent for a moment until Pippin asked:

"Why did you come here?"

"To talk to Merry," Eomer replied.

"Oh! Well, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting but Gandalf and Strider are still in there so you would have had to wait a little bit anyways."

"I don't mind waiting," Eomer replied. "I've actually quite enjoyed talking to you."

Pippin smiled. "It's funny," he said, " not long ago I would have laughed at anyone who told me I would talk to a king. Now nothing that happens to me seems very strange."

"You have been through much," Eomer responded softly. "Indeed, you have been through more dark times than almost every man in my army. You and your friends have been through more than most people could handle. The halflings will never cease to amaze me. And," he whispered to himself, "I will never doubt them again."


	4. Courage Knows No Size

The door to Merry's room swung open. Both Eomer and Pippin immediately stood as Gandalf and Aragorn walked out. The man and wizard gave Eomer a questioning look but said nothing. Gandalf bent down to Pippin and whispered something to him and immediately the hobbit ran into Merry's room.

"Good day, Eomer," said Aragorn. "Do you need something?"

"I was actually wanting to talk to Merry. How is he doing?"

"He is recovering quickly," Aragorn replied. "He will soon be well."

"I am glad," Eomer answered. "Pippin is concerned about him," he added.

Aragorn nodded. "I know. Merry will never fully recover from this I think, but it will not trouble him much. You may go in and talk to him if you want. Pippin will leave when you go in."

"Thank you, Aragorn."

With that Eomer walked into the room. Merry was sitting up in his bed talking to Pippin. They both looked over at him and smiled. Pippin said something to Merry then went out.

Eomer paused, unsure of what to say, but Merry spoke first.

"Forgive me, I would bow, but Gandalf and Strider told me to stay in bed."

"I would rather you did not bow," Eomer said with a slight smile. "I suppose I'll have to get used to it now if I'm to be king. I certainly don't feel like a king."

Merry laughed. "I certainly don't feel like a warrior! However, everyone seems to think I am, even Pip now!"

"The truth is, I've come here for two reasons. First, I have come here to thank you. Without you, my sister would not be still alive. You cannot possibly understand how very thankful I am that she is."

"People give me too much credit," Merry said softly.

Eomer shook his head. "They give you as much credit as you should get, and maybe not even enough. Secondly, Master Meriadoc, I've come to apologize."

Merry's head shot up. "What?"

"Before the battle, I doubted any ability you would have and wished you would be gone so you would no longer be a burden."

Merry nodded slowly.

"I underestimated you and now I see how horribly wrong I was," Eomer continued. "I saw you fighting at Pelenor Fields, Master Meriadoc. I thought at first that a child had come to the battle, then I realized that it was you. You fought as valiantly as any of my men. And you saved my sister. Forgive me, for being a blind fool and doubting you."

"I've often doubted myself. I'm no warrior, I'm just a hobbit. I'm glad I was able to help in any way. There is nothing to forgive, my king," Merry answered softly.

"Meriadoc Brandybuck," Eomer said, "I swear this to you now: the story of your deeds shall forever be told in Rohan. If all Middle Earth forgets your courage, Rohan never will. You shall be known as Holdwine of the Mark, a knight of Rohan, and a friend to its kings. That is, if you will have Rohan's newest king as your friend. I hear he's a very stubborn man and foolish, but he would greatly like to have you as his friend."

Merry smiled. "I would very much like to be his friend."

Eomer smiled back at the brave, young hobbit.

Then Merry's look became more serious. "Eomer King, I give you my service, as I did to your uncle before you. Will you take it?"

"I would be honored to have it," Eomer replied.

A knock on the door interrupted them, and a young Gondorian soldier stuck his head in.

"Forgive me, my lords, for interrupting," he said, "but King Eomer is needed."

Eomer nodded and the soldier left. Before Eomer went he turned to Merry.

"Thank you Meriadoc-"

"Please, call me Merry. All my friends do."

Eomer smiled. "Then thank you Merry, for teaching me that courage knows no size."


End file.
